Tuesday, November 18

So I was just thinking about this in the shower, and it came to me that the
real connection between J.R.R. Tolkien and Led Zeppelin is not half a
dozen lyrical references and thematic appropriations.1
It is that, in the end, each created a massively popular set of cultural
artifacts, exerting enormous influence on entire generations of cultural
producers — and that, to date, the bulk of their obvious
impact on subsequent art has been pernicious.

1 Regardless of whether you think that "The
Battle of Evermore" is a fine and fitting evocation of certain narrative
moments, or an annoying piece of twee dorkitude.